American or European?
There are two different types of roulette table that exists at the casino. The two have very different outcomes and probabilities so it is a good idea to know the difference.
European or French Roulette table
The single most important fact about this roulette wheel is the fact that it has a single zero. This is primarily the ‘house edge’ that means all your coin toss or 50/50 bets on red/black or odd/even are biased towards the house because of this number. Originally this did not actually exist at all until the first Casino in Monte Carlo thought it did not have any real advantage. By inserting the neutral zero means the Casino will always win overall if the laws of probability are true.
American Roulette Table?
In America the French wheel was originally used but casinos then decided that the house advantage was not quite large enough. So they added the extra ‘00' slot which doubles the house edge. The distribution of the numbers and colors on both wheels are distributed in different ways but both so that there is an equal chance of red/black and odd/even combinations.
Some European tables have a feature called the ‘La Partage’ rule. This rule means that you only lose 50% of your even money wagers if the ball land on zero. This rule actually favours the player more since it reduces the hosue edge of the casino.
Make sure that when you play roulette you choose to play on a European table. The house edge of the table is much smaller and you have a much higher chance of lady luck showing up and handing you some nice winnings. Remember to control how much you are willing to play and that the even money wagers are usually the best value.
